Singapore adults unfit, sleep deprived: survey

Singapore scores just 59 out 100 for healthy living, according to the 2013 Healthy Living Index Survey that was announced on Thursday by insurance company AIA Singapore. (Getty Images)

Singapore scores just 59 out 100 for healthy living, according to the 2013 Healthy Living Index Survey that was announced on Thursday by insurance company AIA Singapore.

This ranks the bustling city-state at number 10 out of the 15 markets across the Asia-Pacific region which took part in the survey.

The 2013 AIA Healthy Living Index Survey was conducted with 10,200 adults and it studied their behaviour and health satisfaction.

Over 75 per cent of the total respondents mentioned that their health isn't as good as it was five years ago. The same percentage applies to the Singapore adults who had taken part in the survey; many of them had rated themselves at only 6.6 out 10

Among Singapore adults, who rate their health satisfaction at just 6.6 out of 10, the survey findings showed that many of them are sleep deprived, have bad posture and do not spend enough time exercising.

They spend about 30 hours lesser on exercising compared to others in the region — this is below the average.

However, they are spending more time engaging in online activities and logging on to social networking sites. Three in four Singapore adults have confessed to this and over 75 per cent of them said that they find it hard to break the addictive habit.

Furthermore, less than half of Singapore respondents said that they have gone for a health check-up in the last 12 months, said the survey.

However, Singapore adults are concerned with food safety and hazards from various types of pollution.

Three in four of them are anxious about food that may contain harmful ingredients mainly due to the food scandals that have been coming up in the region, and 70 per cent of the total Singapore respondents are concerned with incidence of poor air quality, mainly caused by the recent haze.